Planning is under way for Portola’s football team to join the Pacific Coast League in September of 2018.

The football team, with freshmen and sophomores, will compete at the freshmen and junior varsity levels this season, according to head football coach Peter Abe, a former Irvine High football standout and Vaquero assistant coach.

Abe will be the coach of the Portola varsity team when it opens play in 2018. Portola will be part of the PCL in an all-Irvine league for all sports. Corona del Mar will be moving out of the league which will consist of Portola, Beckman, Northwood, Irvine, University and Woodbridge. Portola, Irvine’s newest Irvine public high school, will have juniors when it opens up in 2018, Abe added.

Abe said the football program is gearing up for its fall camp which is called “Dawg Days at Portola,” on Monday, Aug. 7. The school’s nickname is Bulldogs.

Portola opened up last year. Northwood’s varsity football team used the on-campus football stadium there as it home field and will again use it this season.

Tim Burt first joined the Irvine World News in May of 1984 covering high school and youth sports in the city of Irvine. Since then, he has covered some of the most exciting high school sports events in Orange County. Tim's job includes reporting on sports in Irvine and Tustin and other communities for the Orange County Register and OC Varsity. He found his passion of journalism in high school at Long Beach Wilson on the school newspaper, the Loudspeaker. He later got his bachelor's degree in journalism from Long Beach State. Tim was honored in 2016 by the City of Irvine when he was named to the Wall of Recognition. In addition, the Pacific Coast League named the baseball championship trophy in his honor. In his off hours, Tim enjoys watching college and professional sports with friends and playing softball on the city of Irvine coed softball team, the Misprnts, founded by former Irvine World News editor Don Dennis. Tim has lived in Orange County for more than 30 years.

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